The Israeli servodrive and motion controls developer, Elmo Motion Control, has set up a UK operation in the West Midlands, with Gary Busby as managing director. Busby has previously worked for Control Techniques, Omron, ABB, PP Electrical and Applied Automation, among others.

At the same time, Elmo has announced an even more powerful version (5kW continuous) of its Gold Twitter Nano servodrive which, it claims, is the world’s smallest, weighing just 20g and occupying less than 13cm3. The first version, launched in 2015, was rated at 4kW.

Elmo, founded in 1988, employs more than 350 staff worldwide and has production plants in Israel and Poland. It currently makes 15,000–20,000 servodrives and controllers every month. “Developing innovative, feature-rich, high-power-density and ultra-compact products is what sets us apart,” says Busby.

Elmo’s products have previously been sold in the UK through distributors and will continue to be available from Heason Technology and Motion Control Products, as well as Elmo, whose Burntwood Business Park location will serve as a sales and service centre.

Elmo's latest Gold Twitter servodrive packs a 5kW capability into a package weighing less than 20g

As well as being the world’s tiniest servodrive, Elmo claims that its new 80A, 80V Twitter drive is the smallest SIL3-certified servo. Its minute size means that the EtherCat-compatible drive can be built into robot arms and grippers, be fitted inside motors, or even carried on-board drones. “It is leagues ahead of anything else on the market,” Busby declares.

Elmo achieves the high power rating in the tiny format by using an fast switching technology which, it claims, delivers efficiencies of more than 99% with negligible electromagnetic interference. The high efficiency limits the amount of heat generated by the drives.